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Castor Morveer comes across as an intelligent sophisticated, if slightly eccentric, gentleman assassin. He is certainly a genius in his field, having killed numerous high-profile targets in his long career.

However, Morveer is a sociopath with a disdain for human life, who has poisoned literally every person he ever had more than a passing acquaintance with. Egotistical and inordinately impressed by his own deviousness, while hypocritically claiming he cannot abide arrogance. He’s incredibly condescending, and never hesitates to point out when other bungle their end of the various killings. He completely lacks people skills, and all his attempts at humour are spectacularly unfunny; he is in fact aware of this, and at times genuinely wants people to relate to and understand him.

Morveer is a strong advocate of science, and considers magic nonsense devised to fool idiots. Although basically a coward in a fight, his weapons of choice are poisoned needles and blowguns.

After his mother died, Castor Morveer grew up in a harshly run orphanage. His childhood was unpleasant, constantly bullied by many of the other children. His sociopathic tendencies started when he was only young, poisoning birds. He often bemoans his traumatic childhood, but it's later revealed that he actually poisoned his own mother, and later all the orphanage staff and most of the children too.

Morveer was taken on as the apprentice to the infamous master poisoner Moumah-yin-Bek, who he eventually poisoned. His work has taken his all over Styria, and to The Union and even The Gurkish Empire. He has been master to a number of apprentices, the latest being Day. It's implied that he killed all his former apprentice, and some of them attempted to kill him; one with an axe. He goes to great lengths to ensure that he won't be poisoned by his own concoctions, dosing himself to build up his immunity, and drilling Day endlessly about what a common fate this is for poisoners.

After Grand Duke Orso fails to murder Monza Murcatto, Castor Morveer gets a visit from her and Caul Shivers to recruit him in her revenge against the seven men who killed her brother Benna. Morveer poisons the pair with a paralytic agent on his hands, just to make sure that Monza is being honest with him. After negotiating his fee, he gives them the antidote.

In Westport, Morveer enters Valint & Balk in the guise of a merchant from Puranti, in order to meet their target Mauthis. Morveer tries various ploys to poison the banker, however he proves an infuriatingly cautious and well-protected man. Under cover of darkness, Shivers scales the bank, and uses a crossbow and rope to haul Morveer and co onto the building. Friendly then lowers Morveer and Day into the bank. To make sure Mauthis is good and dead, Morveer poisons every single ledger in the bank, killing Mauthis, and dozens of other people in the process.

In Sipani, Nicomo Cosca joins Monza’s crew, and he and Morveer take an instant mutual dislike for each other. In Cardotti's House of Leisure, Morveer and Day have a minor role, poisoning Prince Ario’s guards with blow-darts, allowing Monza to kill Duke Orso's eldest son. The pair then escape Cardotti's before the carnage ensues, that ends with the pleasure house burning to the ground.

By the time they reach Visserine, Morveer has become dubious at the risks Monza takes; entering a city under siege. Monza has equally begun to distrust the poisoner. She begins to work on Day, telling her if Morveer betrays her to Orso, he will obviously need a scapegoat for Ario’s death; Day. Monza's plans go awry again, when she, Shivers and Day are arrested as spies by Duke Salier. Morveer and Vitari sneak into the palace, and help them all escape, after they've killed General Ganmark.

In Puranti, Morveer starts musing about whether they should betray Monza, and switch to Duke Orso. Day's face drops when he ponders finding a scapegoat to cover up their involvement in Prince Ario’s death. She stab’s him with a poison needle coated with the King of Poisons. However, Morveer reacts quickly and stabs her with a needle in return. Mocking her gullibility, he reveals the King of Poisons is harmless, a ruse in case she ever poisoned him. As she begs for her life, Morveer offers her a bottle containing the "antidote". She takes it and promptly drops dead; a poison-cure-gambit where the original needle had no poison, and the bottle contained the real toxin.

Morveer flees to Talins, to seek new employ with Grand Duke Orso. To his consternation Orso is just as blood-thirsty as Monza, and has his own list of seven people he wants dead; Monza, Cosca and the five remaining leaders in Styria.

After a number of failed attempts, Morveer sneaks into the Senate House in Talins where Duke Rogont is to be crowned King of all Styria, and paints the crown with poison. During the coronation Rogont, Sotorius, Cotarda, Lirozio, and Patine all pitch over dead. Of the Styrian leaders, only Grand Duchess Monza survives thanks to the glove she always wears on her crippled hand. Ironically, after turning on Monza, Morveer does more to aid her rise to power, than he did when he was working for her.

At the siege of Fontezarmo, Morveer creeps into the fortress disguised as a mercenary to kill the last two targets on his list. He poisons Cosca’s wine, but only his captain Victus is killed; Cosca has been tee-total since Sipani, which Morveer himself had advised him to do. Cosca forces Morveer's own mounted needle into his neck, poisoned by his own poison.

In the end, Grand Duchess Monza is left all powerful in Talins, but vilified throughout Styria suspected of killing Rogont and the others. And so Monza creates a legend around Morveer, much as he had always dreamed; "The greatest and most subtle murderer in history."